


i hold you close (and let you know everything will be okay)

by soapyconnor



Series: Porcelain Family [3]
Category: Cuphead (Video Game)
Genre: Nightmares, Parent!AU, idk what else to put in the tags 'm sorry, mentions of child abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-18
Updated: 2017-11-18
Packaged: 2019-02-03 23:51:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12758826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soapyconnor/pseuds/soapyconnor
Summary: cuphead has nightmares. dice comforts him.





	i hold you close (and let you know everything will be okay)

**Author's Note:**

> hi!!!! here's anothrr fic for the porcelain family series!!! hope u enjoy. this wasn't beta'd. if u want to follow me on social media, i have a tumblr: @heggsys

            King Dice woke up in the middle of the night, feel parched and overheated. The source of it came from the giant ball of fur curled around him. Spitting out the hair in his mouth, King Dice slowly crawled out from beneath the Devil, and sat up on the edge of the bed. He scrubbed a hand across his face, and removed his shirt, too hot to stand it at the moment.

            He glanced back at the Devil, who was sleeping peacefully. He yawned, and stood up. Tiredly, he walked out of his room and down the hallway. He walked past Mugman’s and Cuphead’s rooms, and he listened closely. While he knew Mugman was definitely asleep, he wasn’t so sure about Cuphead. Multiple times they’ve caught him up late at night, doing random things. It was silent, so King Dice just shrugged and kept on walking.

            He headed into the kitchen, and got a glass of water, which he proceeded to chug. He refilled it once more, and chugged that as well, before he heard a small scream. He dropped the glass, and it shattered against the hard wood flooring. He took off, and ran up the staircase. He followed the muffled shouting, and he found himself standing outside of Cuphead’s room. The Devil was there as well, and his fur was ruffled. King Dice placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ve got this. Go back to bed,” he said softly. The Devil shook his head, and opened his mouth, but King Dice gave him a look.

            The Devil sighed, and nodded, gently kissing him on the side of the head, before he returned to bed. King Dice opened the door after taking a deep breath, and he stepped in.

            He saw Cuphead lying awake on his bed, curled up in a ball, and his hands covering his mouth to muffle the sobs. King Dice slowly approached him, and sat down on the bed. Cuphead still hadn’t noticed his presence, so Dice slowly lowered his hand onto Cuphead’s shoulder.

            Cuphead’s eyes snapped open, and his eyes darted to Dice. Instantly, he flung himself into Dice’s arms, and sobbed against his chest, “ _Papa._ ”

            Dice’s arms wrapped around him, and he softly kissed his head. He pulled him close, and he pulled them back on the bed. He rested his back against the headboard, and pulled Cuphead on his lap. “Sh,” he murmured softly, “Sh, it’s okay. It’s all right. I’m here.” He gently rubbed Cuphead’s back, and Cuphead continued to cry against his chest.

            They laid there for a long time, with Cuphead having a death grip against his clothes, before his sobbing finally quieted. King Dice continued to rub his back softly, and gently kissed the sides of his head. King Dice timed himself. Once a full two minutes pass did he say, “What’s wrong, Cuphead?”

            Cuphead buried himself against Dice’s chest. “Don’ wanna talk abou’ it.”

            “I understand,” Dice replied, his voice gentle. “I know how it feels. But I can’t help you unless you speak. I can’t make it go away.”

            “You just made it go away though? You’re here.”

            “I can’t be here all the time. Wouldn’t you rather just not have the dreams in the first place?” King Dice asked softly. “I won’t tell Mugman or dad. I promise you. This will stay between us.”

            Cuphead shifted anxiously against him, before he spoke up, “I have nightmares all the time. I have nightmares about school, and about a different place. A dirty place. Mugman’s there. You’re not. Neither is dad. I don’t know where it is but it smells gross. There’s an old man there, too. All I feel in both nightmares is pain.”

            Dice was quiet. He had no idea that Cuphead was so scared about school, and that he was even capable of having nightmares about Elder Kettle’s home. “What are the nightmares about? Tell me one by one.”

            Cuphead’s hands balled into fists. “The school one isn’t always so bad. But . . . but the kids at school make fun of me. They make fun of how small I am. They say how I’m a freak because my dad is the Devil. It’s why I beat ‘em up so much. The principal doesn’t believe me when I say that they’re making fun of me. She says that I’m just having issues because of who I’m raised by. So, I have nightmares that they’re beating me up, and I’m trying to defend myself, but I can’t. They just keep coming no matter what I do. I can never beat them. They just coming at me with mean words.”

            King Dice was quiet for a moment after Cuphead stopped speaking. “I’m sorry. We’ll do whatever we can to make you and Mugman comfortable at your school, okay? We’ll take you out of that school as soon as we can. We’ll take you all the way over to the second Inkwell Isle if we need too.” Cuphead buried his face in the crook of Dice’s arm.

            Ignoring Dice’s response, Cuphead went on to say, “The other nightmare is the worst. It’s worse than the school one. I just . . . I don’t remember a whole lot. I just know Mugman’s there. Sometimes he’s talking to me and telling me everything’s okay. There’s an old man there. Sometimes he’s drunk. Sometimes he’s freaking out. There’s always the feeling of being hungry.” He tried to bury himself closer against Dice’s side. “Where is that dream from? I don’t remember him. We’ve always been with you, right?”

            Dice swallowed heavily. He didn’t know what to say. While they were planning on telling the boys eventually about how they adopted them, they never thought it would be so soon. Mugman never even mentioned anything about their time at Elder Kettle’s home, and he would remember it. Besides, Cuphead was eight. He shouldn’t remember it . . .

            Before he told Cuphead about how they really came to be, he asked, “How long have you been having these dreams?”

            Cuphead shrugged. “Since forever, I guess.”

            “How come we’ve never heard you before tonight?” he asked softly.

            “Mugman’s always been in the same room as me. He always comforts me. But then you said that you thought we needed different rooms, so now he can’t . . . It’s fine though,” Cuphead replied.

            King Dice’s stomach clenched. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that we haven’t been there for you. If you want, we can put you two back together?” Cuphead shook his head. “I’ll try everything I can to make things better for you, okay? If you have any more nightmares, come to me or dad. Please. I’d hate to know you suffered through this alone.”

            Cuphead closed his eyes tightly, and nodded. “Okay. But . . . but I still want to know. _Need_ to know . . . haven’t we always been with you?”

            “Cuphead,” King Dice said softly, “you’re right, at least somewhat. You and Mugman have been with us since you were very young. But, we didn’t adopt you and Mugman until he was two and you were one. Before then, you were living with the man who you’ve been seeing in your dreams.”

            “Oh,” Cuphead said, then went silent. “So . . . how did you adopt us then?”

            “It was by accident,” Dice admitted, “But it was the best thing to ever happen to us. We love you so much.”

            “How do you adopt two kids by accident?” Cuphead said with a frown.

            “You know how your dad makes deals with people, yeah? Well . . . this man’s deal involved giving you two up. He lost, so your dad and I became your parents.”

            “Oh. Okay,” Cuphead murmured, then curled against Dice’s side. “I’m glad we’re with you too. I wouldn’t be able to stand that feeling of constantly being hungry.”

            Laying back with Cuphead, Dice said, “I’m glad you’re here too. You’ll never have to worry about anything like that again.”

            “I know I won’t. You’re good parents,” he said softly, pushing himself closer to Dice, before he fell asleep.

            Warmth flooded Dice’s cheeks. He smiled once more, and kissed Cuphead’s head, before he too fell asleep.


End file.
